


and then there were two

by orphan_account



Category: The Pacific (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Police, Crack Treated Seriously, Gen, what is the us police system we just don't know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 23:04:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5516531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snafu, admittedly, should've seen this coming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and then there were two

**Author's Note:**

  * For [uniformly (dustystars)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=uniformly+%28dustystars%29).



> The prompt for this was 'Police Station AU' .. This is probably not what you had in mind, but I hope you'll like it anyway. This is unbeta'd, and I'm not a native english speaker, so I apologize for any strange grammar/syntax mistakes.  
> NB: The NOPD is divided in several departments, a total of 8. They apparently all have a specific staff, distric commander, and areas assigned. Snafu belongs to 4th district. Some expressions are taken from the series the SHIELD.

God, he _hated_ stakeouts.

 

Especially long, boring stakeouts on rainy days with nothing to do but wait in your fucking car, an uneaten wrap and field glasses your only companions. The stakeout had ended with him being called back to the precinct, untethered and gnashing at the leash. If he’d been honest with himself, he’d say it’d been a frozen lead from the start, but he did his job even if the higher-ups gave them rotten mission orders. A missing conman with apparent nefarious intent  disappearing in the dead of the night. It had been a joint investigation from the start, the data crossing over one other NOPD precinct. He still felt like someone from the other department had given them a dried apple to play with, to leave them time to come up with the solution of the investigation and ride back on their high horses.

The very idea’d made him scoff to hell and back.

And to add insult to wounded pride -alright, as stakeouts went,it could’ve ended up worse-, entering the precinct led him to being literally plastered with sharp glances knowing looks and gossiping, with a hint of interested edge in the undercurrent. Right at the centre of it all, stood something completely new, _unfamiliar object_ on the course, bored stony gaze staring right back at him.

He’d been about to open his mouth, ask what the hell was going on, when Detective Juergens came bounding up to him, skilfully swerving him around from the main crowd of the station and into the back chicken coop.

Well. This _had_ to have been expected…What was he, an old, lame horse?

‘Not skipper’s decision.’ had been Juergens' thin excuse. He liked Detective Lew 'Chuckler' Juergens. He usually went straight to the point without a lot of wavering in through the details, which was a nice contrast to his usual diurnal contacts. And he seemed as pissed off as he felt, which, to be honest, felt like a balm right now.

“What the _hell._ ’ being the first genuine thing that comes out of his mouth since this morning.

‘You tell me. The district’d been at our door since last week and apparently decided that, I quote ‘your lot was taking their grand time arresting someone that presents an utmost danger to the population at large.’

‘Hey, if they’re not happy, why didn’t they fuckin’ do it themselves? I’d’ve been _fuckin’ glad_ to have this cat off of my back a week ago!’

‘So-anyway, they send their guy over here to 'help'. Ordered a staff transfer for;I quote  'the safety of the public; the greater good at large'. He seems like a pretty okay fella, all things considered, and Chief says we don’t need anymore publicity for a while."

Translation: deal with the guy, but quickly and _quietly_. Snafu shrugged.

‘Only if he can keep up,’ It was like swallowing a rotten apple.

Chuckler grinned, patting him on his way out.

\---

Making acquaintance was hard, especially between different services' staff. It wasn’t just that Snafu felt genuinely uncomfortable with other people. The other detective seemed adaptable at the very least, but appeared twelve and right out of Academy. Not that Shelton would ever admit it to his face- but it was another matter to just drag around an unwanted dead weight, there to rub it in your nose.

He’d led the man to his own little office and the guy had promptly asked for the case’s files. It felt like a rash under his skin. The guy had stared at the papers for the remainder of the evening, occasional words striking out, trying to shove his ideas onto the case- Snafu barely acknowledged his existence, handing him the files that need to be read. To be frank, Snafu was pissed that the guy had to read anything. It felt like the district had fed him a rookie.

A rookie that knew his story, but a squealing chick nonetheless. The guy kept nodding at parts of the files, too, like some robot who had jammed up. It would’ve been comical, if it weren’t so damn frustrating.

“Champ, you’re here, you probably know more about the case than I do, what the hell do you need those files for?’

The man gave an infuriating little smirk.

‘Boss just wants to know what went wrong in this case. ‘S all I’m here for. Well, besides admiring the singular amount of dust in this plate too.’

_Oh alright then._

He rolled his eyes at the fella, whose neutral position belied the obvious glint in his eyes.

Wait. _What?_

‘ Don’t get me wrong, Detective, but the records on your department haven’t all been very shiny so far,’

‘Only because you lot don’t take on the vagrant and the recently widowed,’

‘Isn’t that supposed to be the w _idow and the orphan?’_

Snafu smirked back. The guy seemed to understand snark. Even if it was basic so far. He could start working on that first.

‘So the guy we’re looking for is a con. Any other penchant or quirks known?’

‘The data collected by our favorite analysts up at 8th told us the man had a penchant for gambling. Other than that he rarely keeps updates of his con. Probably too paranoid for that’ he showed Leyden the pictures of the clean, proper flat he and the task force had turned over earlier in the week.

\---

 In the end, they manage to actually work together. It takes a few in and outs, a few going around the neighbourhood and bracings.  Leyden still felt like he had that rookie attitude that he couldn’t shake off-he kept asking questions and Snafu knew he knew the answers. sometimes Snafu wondered if they’d send him over as a test. He wasn’t exactly well known for sending people off under wrappers and sweet dear johns.

They investigated a bar- the kind of seedy, off-street bars that Snafu would’ve loved in any other time and circumstances-that the missing person frequented. It had been tedious enough gathering personal data concerning the target, since the guy had no family ties anymore and the stunts he pulled generally touched what you could call the ‘ _regular_ ’ public.  The whole thing still presented the risk of creating disorder among the public and making the sector appear ‘unruly’ (regular press talk), and the precincts couldn’t let one man make them appear less than competent. Snafu did most of the talk, if only because the barman’d been eyeing Leyden with the sort of intensity that should’ve made him shrivel up and freeze over, but Leyden didn’t seem to notice anything wrong and appeared to be checking the several dozen bottles of whiskey above the counter.

None of the patrons have anything really interesting to tell them, besides the consistency of their drink and how the Smoking Dog was an excellent bar with respectable population ( Snafu carefully did not comment on that interviewee’s more than greasy appearance and distinctive smell, even though it burned his tongue, and kept quiet) They knew nothing of the missing person, and had never seen them, despite the elderly man being a regular client. It was obvious that they were all more or less accustomed with police interruptions, and kept a bored façade.

Snafu kept feeling beady, greasy eyes trained on them, however, and soon decided to call it quits

‘Come on’ he told Leyden after a while, We’ll get nothin’ outta these screw-ups.'  

Leyden reluctantly stood up, and it was only once outside on the porch, sunset light glaring down on them, that he did a complete shift on his heels, blocking Snafu in the process.

‘There were tally marks behind the counter.’

‘What.’

‘Tally marks on a small black slate, like a booker’s.’

‘Well people usually gamble at a bar, so that’s not indicative of anything’-‘

‘The slate was identical to those you guys photographed at the target’s flat.’

‘So you’re sayin’..’

‘Uh-uh.’

 --

They barged back in, surprise making the barman’s glass crash on the counter. For a moment, there was a standstill, in which they all more or less froze, and you could clearly see the tension wing up through the man.

 

The bar explosed in a flurry of action, the owner literally leaping for the back door behind the counter. Leyden followed suit, easily distancing Snafu in his haste. Snafu followed at a slower pace, taking time to inform PC control, occassionally bumping into patrons and crashing down the stairs after the pair.

The chase led Leyden through several back alleys, scaring local furry inhabitants-he'd remember the tabby cat jumping and hissin' at him for a while after that, and the scars would be a testament-and that one old neighbor. He only managed to lose sight of the barman once- and by then he'd suspected the man had something to do with the con's disappearance. He certainly knew the guy and wouldn't have run otherwise. To be honest, the barman seemed to be running a little too swifly for an innocent man.

Leyden finally caught up with him on a turn,just as the man'd paused to catch his breath.

Putting the cuffs on felt like a breather.

\---

Snafu stopped short at the sight beyond the stairs. Below the bar was a large, dimly lit room. A flittering light hung from the ceiling.  

At the center?

 

Dogs.

Dogs were running in laps accross a real, tangible stadium. The dogs all wore harnesses of different colors and ran, tongues dropping and tails wagging. Seemed pretty eager to finish the chase too. Supporters vociferously edged them on, some brandishing - of all things- sausages and treats.  _Sausages._

Snafu felt like he was going to explode in fits of laughter.

 

\-----

 

 Meeting back and leaving for the precinct again had been a blast. Leyden had not questioned the presence of an overly excited dog about to break on a run the first chance he got. Were it not for Shelton's tight grip on its harness, it might probably be gone already.

Loading the barman into the car was easy work, and as the medics patched his cat-inflicted wound expertly, he decided he could not wait to hear Snafu's tail end of the story. Even up at 5th district he never saw quite that much activity, and he hadn't been on the forces for very long.

 

 

During interrogation, and after a bit of pressuring from Snafu, the barman admits to having a hand in the conman's disappearance- he was asking for too much, the percentage of the gamblers that came back to him didn't seem to suffice anymore. The situation had worsened, the barman panicked  and, well, one thing leading to another, the barman just  _had_ to get rid of the burden. 

 The entire novelty of the case increased when they came back out of the room. Being the outsider, Leyden was immediately swamped by curious officers, detectives and clerks alike, gawking at his wound. Snafu observed the circus with an amused glint in the eyes. As first investigations went, this one hadn't been the strangest, if he remembered the department's records well.

 ---

He woke up with a start, head shotting up from the desk where the files he had  last been reviewing piled up. Disoriented he frowned, and as the world came back into focus, he noticed him.

Leyden stood it front of him, eyes wide and grinning like the cheshire cat. In his hands were two mugs of warm coffee, one he handed to the detective.

Snafu frowned

' Interesting dream?'

'Dream? More like nightmare really. How many times do you dream you're back at point zero with your new partner?'

'Ouch' intoned Leyden, sitting comfortably at the other man's desk. The district's badge gleamed on his shoulder.

'Exactly. ' He gave an appreciating nod at the mug steaming in front of him.

' I knew it was a dream the moment you were the hero anyway,'

'At least it didn't change your lousy personnality.' Leyden rolled his eyes, still a little touched that he had  _dreamed_ of him at all. And of his rookie self, too. He knew, however, that his partner would be irritated for the rest of the morning. He _hated_ being reminded how he'd been bested at his own game.


End file.
